TDI: Attack of the Underground
by gamestomper
Summary: When a figure from Gwen's past returns for revenge, it is up to six of the heroes to stop the force known as the Underground to save their friends. Meanwhile, Gwen tries to convince a conflicted Underground member to change his ways. Sequel to "TDI: FotF"
1. It's Not Over Yet

gamestomper here yet again, this time with the sequel to TDI:FotF: TDI: Attack of the Underground. This particular story has scenes with torture, but nothing too bad has popped up yet. There is once again violence, some language, and possible gore. Oh yeah, and maybe death. Sadistic things aside, the couples are DxC, TxG, GxB, OxI, TxL, and ExH. Some characters can be OOC, and might very well be. Also, one of my own previous characters from another story has been added as a member of the Underground, as well as a returning minor character from FotF.

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own each member of the Underground, and any other minor characters.

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_FLORIDA- RANDOM HOUSE_

_"Yes, it appears that the previous threat of evil superhumans has been cleared out thanks to this group of individuals, who we managed to catch footage of............. We could not get an actual interview, but a few viewers have called in to tell us about each of them, so I shall read off their names one by one as this country thanks them for their bravery. Owen... Geoff... DJ... Ezekiel... Duncan... Courtney... Katie... Sadie... Tyler... Harold... Lindsay... Trent... Heather... Leshawna... Izzy... and Gwen... We may not know them all, but this reporter believes that their legend will go down into history. We're gonna take a brief commercial break, but when we return-"_

**ZAP!**

John Bellevue turned off the T.V in anger, getting stares from his other nine friends. He had gotten back from the hospital a few hours ago, when his friends showed him the report that had included that damn girl. The one that just had to be so freaky that it distracted him, and he had been knocked out by a pipe. Anger coarsed through his veins enough that he started to shake violently. His nearest friend, Carlos, put his hand on his hand.

"Calm down man, we don't know if it's the same Gwen," he admitted, trying to calm his friend down before he got too angry. John shook the hand away and stood up, angrily thinking of things to do to that damned goth. He imagined all kinds of things, ranging from strangling her, to firing a couple guns through her body, to even just throwing her off the Empire State Building. He could only think of anger. It just made him so mad that she had sent him to the hospital, and now she was a national hero all of a sudden. Those stupid reporters didn't know how she really was. Finally, John felt his anger build up to its peak, and he shouted to the sky in rage.

"**GOD DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!**" he shouted, clenching his fists extremely tight. The outburst caused his friends to shrink in fear. John could be pretty angry, but he had never been like this before. It was truly frightening. And just when things couldn't get any weirder, John suddenly gasped, and began to laugh crazily. They just exchanged glances, and watched John turn around. He looked like a mess; his hair was slightly frizzy, and his eyes were filled with nothing but crazy that could rival Izzy's. He looked at them, and began to speak, saying the last thing anybody had expected.

"Let's get revenge!" he declared. Josh was the first to speak up.

"Dude, I think you need a little more rest. Now you're just being a little nuts," he spoke, trying to keep John from losing it. But, John shook his head.

"No, I am going to prove that those stupid heroes were nothing but lucky. I already have a plan, and it involves the talents of you guys," John explained. The others perked up, and listened to what this supposed plan was, although still skeptical about John's saneness.

_NORTH CAROLINA- SUPERHUMAN SHACK- A FEW DAYS LATER_

The heroes were all gathered in the main area, ready to finally say farewell to one another, seeing as how a few people had become homesick. Ezekiel still planned to stay at the shack, as he had for so long, and Harold and Duncan planned to visit the prairie boy from time to time. While most of everyone was going to return to their original home, one person had other plans. Trent had no intention of returning to being known as the flying boy in his hometown, so he was planning to accompany Gwen back home. A few others were a little reluctant to return home, for their own reasons. But, enough about that. Now that everyone said their good-byes to each other, a few groups moved off in different directions to return home. Harold and Duncan headed off toward their hometown a couple miles away from Wawanakwa City, which was still destroyed from their battle. Geoff had taken Owen, Izzy, Heather, and Leshawna back to California, and had just returned for Gwen, Trent, DJ, Cody, and Lindsay. After finishing his quick task, he returned home with Bridgette, Courtney, Katie, and Sadie.

_NEW YORK- STREETS_

Finally back in his hometown, Geoff let out a loud whoop.

"It is GREAT to be back, baby!" he shouted, pumping his fists in the air. Bridgette and Courtney just chuckled, while Katie and Sadie rolled their eyes in unison. Geoff continued his little celebration, and transported away. The four looked around for a few seconds before they heard Geoff shout from on top of a tall building nearby.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NEW YORRRRRRRRRRRRRK!!! GEOFF IS BACK!" he screamed into the sky, earning many strange glances from passerbys. Bridgette shook her head, unable to hide a smile. Katie sighed, and spoke.

"That's it, we're going home. See ya Bridgette," Katie waved half-heartily, walking off with Sadie at her heels. Bridgette barely noticed, as Geoff disappeared again. After looking around, Bridgette suddenly felt a tap on her shoulders, and turned around. She nearly jumped at the sight of Geoff standing there, with a huge, innocent grin on his face.

"Stop it!" Bridgette shouted, but her stifled laughter gave away her true meaning. Geoff picked her up bridal style, and took them to his apartment room (through teleportation, of course). But, of course, not without a quick see-ya-later to Courtney

Once back in the room, Geoff set down Bridgette, letting her recover from the sudden move. While she tried to keep complete balance, Geoff noticed how his room looked just as he left it.

"Hmm, guess there wasn't a maid while I was gone," he noted aloud, earning a stare from Bridgette.

"That's because there is no maid, remember? I only help you clean up once, like, every few weeks," Bridgette reminded him, an eyebrow raised and hands on her hips. Geoff looked confused, and Bridgette couldn't help but smile; Geoff could be a clueless little boy sometimes, the way he tried to remember things like that. Bridgette was snapped out of her thoughts as Geoff spoke up.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot!" he shouted, smacking himself on the forehead. He just chuckled, but Bridgette could see him blushing slightly from embarrassment.

Suddenly, Bridgette felt a tiredness unlike any other she had experienced. In response, she let out a yawn. Geoff took this opportunity to change the subject.

"Someone's sleepy," Geoff teased, his trademark grin returning. Bridgette hit his arm playfully, but nodded.

"Nah, I'll be fine. But, I do feel up to a little walk through the city. It's been a while, after all," Bridgette shrugged, putting her hands in the pockets of her hoodie sweatshirt. Geoff just nodded, but rubbed his eyes a little.

"Well, you do that. I'm gonna turn in. G'night," he waved, walking off to his room.

"Good night, Geoff." The door shut behind him, and there were sounds of Geoff collapsing in bed. Bridgette walked over to the door to leave, shutting off the lights before she left for her walk.

Unfortunately, she didn't hear Geoff suddenly shout upon realizing that he wasn't alone in his bedroom. A second later, his cries were silenced, and two men dragged his body out. One had a baseball bat, while the other was empty-handed.

"You think anyone heard us?" the unarmed man asked. The other looked around.

"I guess not; let's just get this guy back to HQ and move on," he replied. The two hurried out the door, alert if anyone were to spot them.

Phase One was in effect.

_NEW YORK- KATIE AND SADIE'S HOUSE_

Katie and Sadie looked fearfully at the guns facing them. There was only one guy looking at them, and he held two machine guns, one in each hand. He had a fresh, large bruise on the side of his face.

"You brought this on yourselves; now turn around, hands on your head!" he barked, shaking his guns for emphasis. The two obeyed, and the man pulled both triggers. In a second, the two girls had fallen dead. The man left the house without a word.

_CALIFORNIA- SOMEWHERE AMONG THE STREETS_

Owen and Izzy quickly ran towards Leshawna's home. Owen had just had a vision of two men capturing Leshawna in her own home and hoped to stop it. They were just two blocks away when Owen collapsed again with another vision; this one showed the same thing happening to Heather. Owen recovered, and was surprised to see Izzy had still been running even when Owen collapsed. She led them inside Leshawna's house, where there were obvious signs of a struggle, but no Leshawna. But, there was a note taped to a nearby overturned table. The two approached the note, and read it over quickly. They exchanged glances, and looked worryingly at each other.

"This is bad," Izzy stated, looking at the note again. Owen stood up, and sighed.

"Very bad," he agreed. Izzy quickly used her telekinesis to rip off a lamp post, and began to scrunch it into a circle. When it was good enough, she hopped up onto it, with Owen following after. With that, Izzy used her powers again to make the two fly into the night, heading southeast.

_FLORIDA- CODY'S HOUSE_

Cody was watching his radar of the entire city that he had personally built a few years ago to keep a watch on the city. He mainly used it to find broken technology, that he would then go find, and repair. After that, he just kept it in his storage room, for when he would run a small business. It was a little strange how he got into that. It all began when his parents divorced. Before leaving, his dad left Cody a small silver locket, that held a picture of the two when Cody was born, and the other showed when the two built Cody's first robot. Cody supposed it was just a way for him to remember his father, even if he left him and his mom at age 12. Ever since, his mother tried to pretend that things were alright, but Cody used his secret skill to repair things, and return them to their owners to earn money for the two. It was something that crossed Cody's mind at least twice a day, and would probably stick in his head forever.

As he looked for abandoned technology, he saw a suspicious group that seemed to be running rather too quickly to be innocent. He zoomed in, and nearly spit out the water he was drinking; he saw Gwen, Trent, Lindsay, DJ, and Tyler all knocked out, and the men were carrying them. Whatever was going on, it couldn't be good. He decided to zoom in on their homes. The closest was Gwen's, so he searched inside. There was a note left in a little bit of the wreckage. Cody quickly read it to himself. By the time he finished, he was wide-eyed from shock.

"No way! He went this far?!" he shouted incredulously. Cody quickly activated his teleporter prototype that he had constructed earlier, and set it to take him to North Carolina.

_NORTH CAROLINA- DUNCAN AND HAROLD'S NEIGHBORHOOD_

Duncan and Harold were still walking in the night back towards their homes, where their families were no doubt waiting for them. But, the whole place seemed... too quiet. No lights illuminated the streets, minus Duncan's fireball. It was very unsettling for the duo. Suddenly, there was a sudden whoosh behind them.

"What was that?!" Harold shouted, turning around. Duncan made a larger fireball to show the source of the noise. Or, sources, that is. Looking around, the two noticed that there were four strange guys that they had never seen before, just standing there.

"What do you want?" Duncan asked, lowering his arm slightly. Suddenly, Harold let out a yelp, and fell over. Duncan's eyes darted over quickly, seeing the shine of baseball bat. He quickly elbowed the guy near him, and heard the other four rushing at him. Duncan tried shooting off a small jet of flames, but one of them jumped over the attack, and rammed Duncan with his shoulder. The pyro stumbled back into some trash cans, and had only sit up when he noticed that the group was running away, with Harold in their clutches. Duncan struggled to stand up, and found a small note taped to the ground. He read it over quickly, and then crushed it in his hands.

"Damn it," he whispered. He crumbled up the note, and began running back the way he came.

_NEW YORK- OUTSIDE COURTNEY'S HOUSE_

Along her walk, Bridgette couldn't help but pass by Courtney's home. She noticed that the door was hanging on its hinges, and felt a little worried. It was unlike Courtney to just leave the door open like that. She stepped inside, and let out an audible gasp. Chairs were overturned, a table was flipped on its side, and a lamp had broken on the floor. There was a note on the underside of the table that Bridgette quickly picked up. It read:

_We've got your friends. Now, don't worry, we'll keep them alive... for now. We'll get all of you jerks, and then kill you one by one (except for those Katie and Sadie girls, who we had to get rid of). Better watch your back. By the way, here's a list of who we got so far: Geoff, Heather, Leshawna, Tyler, Gwen, Lindsay, Trent, DJ, Harold, Courtney. You could be next.  
-The Underground  
_

Bridgette let her arms droop to the side. They had just defeated Eva, and now another psycho, or psychos wanted to kill them now. And, they had Geoff and Courtney! Not to mention that Katie and Sadie were already eliminated. For a fleeting moment, she remembered that Chris and Chef could revive them as they had for her and Cody.

"_Oh wait_," Bridgette remembered their words of how it was a one-time deal, and felt her hope become crushed. She took another look at the list, and tried to figure out who was still safe. She wrote it down on the back of the paper, and triple-checked it to make sure that she didn't forget someone. Nope, she had Ezekiel, Owen, Izzy, Duncan, Cody, and herself. With that, Bridgette left the house, and groaned; the others were miles apart from each other. It could take days, weeks, even months to reach them.

"_Wait, reach..._" she repeated, thinking of an idea. She looked over, and saw two lamp posts. It's worth a shot, she thought. Then, Bridgette spread her body long enough to reach between the two poles, and grabbed hold with her hands and feet. Then, she stretched back, towards Courtney's house. She maneuvered herself around a pole, and looked very much like a human rubber band. She used the stars to figure out directions, and fired herself off to the south, flying through the air.

* * *

What happened to the captured heroes? Where are they? Will our five heroes manage to rescue them? Wait, five? Whatever happened to good ol' Zeke? Stay tuned to find out.

Well, the main villain was none other than John Bellevue from Gwen's school of Lakeside High, from FotF. I actually just got this idea when I was looking through my notes, and the idea began forming itself. I feel that this intro is severely lacking, but we need suspense. Ezekiel and the Underground will make their official appearance next chapter, and Chris will make an appearance. BTW, killing off Katie and Sadie was just... they're too bland for me. Besides, I have enough people as is to watch over. But, they'll be taken care of soon enough, heh heh heh.

Ahem, anyway, it appears that the future people will get their own story after all, since I will close the poll after this is posted, and the majority of voters want it as a separate story. So, while keeping an eye on this story, also watch out for that one, which I think I'll call: TDI: Futuristic Adventures. Details will be posted soon after this, and will explain how it'll work, and give an opportunity for the readers to help out with a few things.

Until then, R&R!

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	2. John's Might

Here's chapter 2, typed up in, perhaps, my fastest time so far. BTW, I've mapped out the rest of the story, and I have decided that there will be no sequel to this sequel. Sorry for anyone who would want one, but some things need to be ended. But, this won't end for quite awhile. BTW, Happy New Year, as tomorrow is New Year's Eve on the East Coast here! Whoo!

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, and any other minor characters.

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NORTH CAROLINA- SUPERHUMAN SHACK

Duncan arrived back at the shack, out of breath from the rather long run. Not to mention, he had just walked this same way. Cody was just appearing out of nowhere, and Duncan ran right into him, with it being night and all. Duncan was out of breath, and just breathed heavily right onto Cody's face.

"Dude, can you get off of me?" Cody asked, trying to keep calm. Duncan rolled off him, and clutched his side.

"Sorry..... man..... I'm just..... really..... tired," he explained in between pants. Cody heard a sound above, and looked up to see Izzy and Owen riding on... a lamp post?

"Hi guys!!!" Izzy shouted, waving.

"Izzy! The lamp post!" Owen shouted. As Izzy's eyes grew wide, the lamp post that they were riding fell toward the ground.

"Oh craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!!!" Owen shouted, as the lamp post hit the ground, flinging the two next to Duncan as it landed.

"My bad!" Izzy shouted, getting back to her feet. Owen pushed himself onto his hands and knees, when he saw Duncan breathing heavily.

"Wow, you look just like me that time that I was chased by a rottweiler for 10 blocks," he commented. Duncan opened an eye, and glared at Owen.

"I.... had..... to run...... all the way........ back.......... here," he explained, trying to still sound tough with every word. With that, Owen stood up straight, and could hear faint screaming.

"Do you guys hear that?" he asked. Cody looked around, and saw a rather long figure soaring through the sky. It began to slow down, and began to fall back to the ground.

"Maybe it's that!!!" he shouted, pointing to the sky. Owen squinted, and gasped.

"Great rings of fire! It's Bridgette!" he screamed, slamming his hands to his head. And so it was. The surfer girl was falling to the ground, screaming in worry and panic. Owen ran over to where she was going to land.

"I've got you!" he shouted, holding out his hands. Bridgette continued to fall, until she finally came close enough to Owen that-

**WHAM!**

She landed right on his stomach, knocking the large teen to the ground. She groaned, and looked at the others.

"Hey, Bridgette..." Cody acknowledged, scratching his chin in light of the awkward situation.

"Hey. You know, this ground is pretty soft," she commented, not looking down. Duncan stifled a laugh, finally working his way onto his hands and knees.

"That's not the ground, sister," he told her. Bridgette looked confused.

"Then, what did I land on?" she asked, afraid to look down. Owen let out a moan.

"All 296 pounds of Owen," he blurted out, rolling Bridgette off of his stomach so that he could stand up.

"Sorry, Owen," she apologized, standing up herself. Duncan had also managed to stand up, getting his energy back.

"Well, now that that's done, I think we all had a reason for coming here," he reminded them, turning to look at Ezekiel's shack. The others looked over as well, and they walked over.

Suddenly, they could hear faint noises inside. Noises that pointed out obvious signs of a fight inside. Duncan kicked the door down, flame in hand. In the middle of the room was Ezekiel, facing off against another man. The other was wearing a black mobster hat, which made his black bangs droop over his face, and cover the back of his neck and his cheeks. His eyes were grayish, but they gave off a faint red glow. He wore a black leather jacket, which concealed his bright red shirt that bore a picture of the devil and had "Satan" written around the picture. He wore black, baggy jeans along with a belt that contained little containers on both sides of the man, containing many throwing knives. He also wore tall boots that reached up to his knees. The man noticed the others, and held his two throwing knives at his sides as if in surrender. Ezekiel noticed the others too, and took the opportunity to get next to them. The man spoke.

"Well, I'd rather not take any chances by taking you all on. I can easily escape now, but what fun would that be? After all, the author knows that I have to help the readers understand what's going on by now," he spoke. The others looked confused.

"Readers?" Owen asked.

"Author?" Bridgette asked.

"Fun?" Ezekiel asked. The man let out a sigh.

"Never mind that. The point is, I am going to give you some information that may prove useful," he explained. "Now, I'll start at the beginning, and work up to the here and now. Do not interrupt, or I'm leaving. It all began sometime before you all were gathered..."

"_You all know Gwen, of course. Well, back when she attended Lakeside High School, there was a guy named John Bellevue. He had a girlfriend, Lindsay, who you also know. Now, one day, Gwen found John trying to do Lindsay, and managed to send the guy to the hospital. When he found out that Gwen was a hero, he was angry. Beyond angry, to tell the truth. He wanted revenge. So, he gathered up his friends, including me, and formed the Underground, consisting of 10 people. We've managed to capture most of you, and are taking you back to Lakeside High to slowly kill you one-by-one. Well, except for Gwen, who seems to be capable of surviving anything. John plans to come up with his own tortures to use on her. As for the rest of you, you are to be killed. Oh, by the way, my name is Eric Renolds, but the others call me Slash, because of what I do to people,_" the man named Slash finally finished. The others just nodded.

"So, you guys are at Lakeside High, in Florida?" Cody asked. Slash nodded, but then crouched down.

"And now, I take my leave," he told them, just before he leaped through an open window, and the heroes heard his leaving footsteps.

"So, to Lakeside High?" Duncan asked. Ezekiel shook his head.

"First, we should make sure everything we were told is written down for future reference, eh," he told him, just as Izzy brought out a notebook and pencil from the wreckage. Ezekiel quickly wrote down everything, and nodded.

"How are we getting there anyway?" Bridgette pointed out. Cody showed his teleporter prototype, and spoke.

"With this thing; it'll get us near Lakeside High in the blink of an eye," he explained.

"Well, then let's go!" Owen shouted, as Cody set the device. An instant later, they disappeared.

FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH

Craig Taylor walked into the Principal's office. Well, it used to be, anyway. Now, it was where John now stayed to think of things to do to Gwen as torture.

"John," he called out. John looked up from the desk he was sitting at.

"Yeah?" he asked. Craig cleared his throat before continuing.

"We've put every one of the captured heroes in shackles by their wrists and ankles in the storage room, and did the same thing to Gwen in that bathroom you requested," he reported. John smiled.

"Excellent. Any word on the other six heroes we missed?" he asked. Craig shrugged.

"Bridgette, Cody, Owen, and Izzy weren't at their homes. Duncan had proved too tough for the others, so they had to run. As for that Ezekiel, we haven't heard from Slash yet," Craig told him. John just nodded, but pulled out a whip from inside the Principal's desk.

"Well, I have business to attend to. I'll return soon, but send Slash here when he returns to wait. Also, make sure that Manny and Fred are still standing guard around the school. I need to know immediately if they find us," John warned. Craig nodded, and followed his boss out the door. He then headed off to check on the two guards, while John took a different route. He passed by Mr. Winfred's classroom, and stopped in front of the nearby girl's bathroom, smirking to himself. He pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

The light was dim, but John could easily see Gwen hanging on the nearby wall, shackles chained to her wrists and ankles. She had her head down, letting her teal-streaked dark hair droop down. John walked over, and lifted her head. Gwen looked tired, but her eyes turned to rage when she saw who it was.

"John Bellevue," she spoke. John nodded, and stepped back.

"That's right. The same one that YOU sent to the hospital. Some hero," he scoffed. Gwen just scowled.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. John let the whip roll out.

"Revenge," he told her, readying for a hit. Gwen looked around.

"Why am I alone in here?" she asked. John quickly snapped his arm forward, watching the whip slice across Gwen's cheek, making a small cut. Gwen just let it bleed.

"This is the same bathroom where you caused me to have to go to the hospital," he explained, hitting her again, this time cutting her shoulder.

"So now, I'm just your little torture victim? Is that it?" she asked, wincing at the next hit that struck her square in the chest. John concealed the whip, and began to leave. He stopped just before opening the door.

"That's right. I'm gonna get my revenge on you. This isn't it, I will be back. And next time, I'll have a different torture for you. By the way, you get a loaf of bread and a glass of water everyday, whenever I feel like giving it to you," he chuckled before shutting the door. Gwen just glared after him, ignoring her three cuts. She didn't even try to heal them.

FLORIDA- NEAR LAKESIDE HIGH

The six heroes appeared right across the street from Lakeside High School, and looked over at it; there weren't any obvious signs of the Underground being there. Well, until they had a few flashlight beams flashed in their faces.

"YOU'LL NEVER GET ME ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEE!!!" Duncan and Izzy shouted, ready to make a run for it. Ezekiel grabbed their shoulders.

"Relax, eh. It's just two random guys with flashlights. Not the cops," he told them. The two stopped, and lightly chuckled.

"Oh, right," Duncan noticed.

"I knew that," Izzy lied. Bridgette looked closely at the two guys rushing toward them.

"You know, they could be from the Underground," she suggested. Cody looked up at her.

"What makes you say that?" he asked. Owen squinted, and looked down at Cody.

"You know, the leather jackets with the words 'Underground' on it could be a clue," he replied. Everyone stood in awkward silence for a second before Izzy ran at the two guys, yelling wildly. The two stopped running. Big mistake, as Izzy punched one of them right in the face, giving him a nosebleed. Duncan walked over, and gave him a burning jet of fire in the face, leaving third-degree burns to kill him. The other guy dropped his flashlight, and ran screaming into the school, while the others ran in after him.

Upon entering, the entire Underground readied themselves to fight, countless weapons in their hands. The heroes could spy Slash in the group, and prepared for a fight against the eight fighters.

"Stop!" a voice called out. The Underground immediately put away their weapons, and looked behind them. One of the members called out,

"John!?" The six heroes looked at the infamous John Bellevue, who had his fists up, showing off his iron knuckles that he was wearing.

"John Bellevue?" Bridgette asked. The man nodded, and looked at the six of them.

"Underground!" he bellowed, startling everyone. "Leave me to fight these people... alone," he ordered. The members nodded, and left, some glancing back to see if the fight had began yet. Duncan lit a flame in each hand, while the others merely held their fists up in a fighting position. John returned the gesture.

"You'll be joining your friends soon," he jeered. Before anyone could retaliate, he rushed at them, fist reared back.

John's first victim was Ezekiel, who got a sock right in the stomach, knocking him into a locker and causing the locker to break off and fall. Duncan quickly threw a flame at John, successfully burning his back. Then, Izzy brought up the broken locker, and smashed it directly in his face. John turned around, and charged at Duncan, knocking him to the ground. Then, while he was down, John punched Duncan in the face, smashing his head through the ground to knock him easily unconscious with a bloody face. As Izzy prepared to launch the locker at his face again, John turned around, and punched it with all of his strength. The locker flew backwards, and whacked Izzy right in the face, dazing her. She could barely see John rushing toward her, when Owen stepped in the way, puffing his stomach out to send John stumbling backwards. He growled, and was momentarily startled when he saw Owen running at him, not seeing Izzy riding his back. John shook off his surprise, and swung his fist forward. The blow made Owen bend over, clutching his stomach in pain. With the wind knocked out of him, he collapsed on the floor breathing heavily. Izzy jumped off his back, and jumped off of John's face. The blow made John fall over, while things were just as painful for Izzy. She had lost her balance when she jumped off John, and fell hard on her hip when she finally landed. The landing left Izzy lying on the ground for awhile, long enough for John to stand up, and kick her in the stomach. Bridgette shot her fist out to hit John, but he moved out of the way just in time, and grabbed her outstretched arm. He yanked it, and held his fist out. Bridgette let out a yell, and went flying forward, hitting John's fist straight on. While John admired his tactic for a few seconds, Ezekiel and Cody hatched a quick plan.

"You distract him, and I'll work on getting everyone together, eh," Ezekiel quickly explained, still holding his stomach in pain.

"And then we use my watch to get outta here," Cody finished, looking over at John. He ran at him, and John also charged. John punched Cody square in the chest, knocking him over onto the ground. Cody groaned, and looked up to see John jumping down for another attack. Cody tried to roll out of the way, but John was too quick for him. John managed to punch Cody's hand, smashing his watch as well, which contained the teleporter prototype. Cody panicked, and noticed that Ezekiel was ready to go. He punched John quickly and ran over.

"The teleporter is broken!!!" he shouted, showing his destroyed watch. Ezekiel looked fearful, and brought everyone to touch him.

"Then we'll use my powers, eh!" he explained, shutting his eyes tight, and focusing on his home sweet shack. Soon, he felt the cold, hard ground of the school disappearing, soon being replaced by a wooden material. Ezekiel opened his eyes, and saw that they were back at the shack.

"_It worked! Yes!_" he thought happily.

NORTH CAROLINA- SUPERHUMAN SHACK

Ezekiel looked at the other heroes, and sighed. They were more than beaten; they were practically murdered by John. Duncan no doubt had a broken nose, maybe a broken neck, and had lost an awful lot of blood. Cody probably had a broken wrist, and his watch seemed to have been destroyed beyond even the technopath's miracle repair capability. Izzy had a bruised hip, Bridgette had a bloody nose, and Owen took a pretty hard blow in the stomach and was breathing heavily still. As for himself, Ezekiel just had a slightly sore back and stomach. Right now, he wished Gwen were here to heal them all. But, she was still stuck at Lakeside, failed to have been rescued by them. Ezekiel stood up, and walked over to a nearby chair, taking a seat carefully, as his back was sore.

"Well, now what?" Bridgette asked, pinching her nose to stop the steady flow of blood. She used her other free hand to scoop up Duncan, and carried him awkwardly into one of the beds to care for him. Cody held his wrist, and tried to move his hand, wincing everytime. Owen and Izzy took to the couch, where they just sat quietly. A few minutes after Bridgette's question was asked, Ezekiel sighed, and spoke.

"I don't know what we're gonna do, eh. We can't take on John by himself, let alone the entire Underground. If we could have found the others, we could have stood a chance. But, now they're probably on high alert for us." The assessment of their situation left another long silence on the group. Cody finally just created a makeshift cast for his hand from Ezekiel's medical supplies, while Bridgette also used a towel to wipe away the blood covering Duncan's face. Soon, Duncan awakened to Bridgette trying to support his head better.

"Urgh, whuh happened?" he asked groggily. Bridgette let a small smile cross her lips, relieved that he was awake.

"We lost, but we're safe now," she told him, struggling to keep his pillows level with the rest of his body. But, Duncan kept squirming around.

"Stop it," she hissed a little too angrily. Then, Duncan swung his legs around and stood up. He felt a little dizziness, and sat back down.

"I'm fine," he told her, standing up a little slower this time. He walked into the other room, rubbing his neck. Bridgette sighed, and followed after him. The two each grabbed a seat, and joined the small circle of heroes. The six just sat around in silence, completely at a loss of what to do now. There was no way that they could take on the entire Underground or sneak back into Lakeside. So, just what were they supposed to do now?

Suddenly, as if to answer their lingering question, Chris floated down into the middle of the circle, and looked around.

"Hey, what's up guys?" he greeted, flashing his pearly-whites.

"Chris!!??" Cody exclaimed, sitting up in awe.

* * *

Cliffhanger! What is Chris doing in the shack again? Where is Chef? Can Ezekiel, Duncan, Owen, Izzy, Bridgette, and Cody stop the Underground? And where has Slash been seen before?

I doubt anyone here knows where I've actually used Slash before (besides me profile icon), but the description I used before was copied onto here. I just, tweaked him a bit here, giving him a real name. I have big plans for him though, in this story (hint hint!).

I have no idea if iron knuckles are actually strong enough to be used as I had John here use them, but whatever. By the way, that little part where Izzy tried jumping off of John's head, and slipped, giving her a bruised hip is based on a stupid, similar thing I did yesterday. But, instead of a person's face, I slipped on a stool. Yeah, I can be a knucklehead sometimes. Anyway, R&R please!


	3. The Ancient Box

Chapter 3 up, and I spent a good hour and a half typing it all up! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, and any other minor characters.

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Bridgette asked incredulously.

"Simple, to help you guys defeat John Bellevue and the Underground!" he stated, looking around at their shocked faces. Duncan scoffed.

"Yeah right. You know how to fight?" he asked, crossing his arms. Owen spoke up.

"No offense, but I prefer to have Chef fight with us. Speaking of which, where is he?" he asked, realizing that Chris was alone.

"Okay, first of all, Chef is out on important business elsewhere. Second, you misunderstood what I meant by helping you guys," Chris explained.

"Misunderstood?" Bridgette repeated, confused. Chris nodded.

"What I'm about to tell you is an ancient secret that, me telling you about it, can get me in some serious trouble. But, it's the only thing that can help you guys defeat the Underground," Chris explained. The others perked up, interested in the secret. Chris looked around and cleared his throat before continuing.

"Long ago, my people sealed an unimaginable power inside a carefully crafted box, and stowed it on Earth somewhere. The box, however, can only be opened by someone who is a descendant of one of the ancient warriors who created the box. Now, I have discovered where the box was hidden," Chris began, pausing to look around at everyone.

"Well, where is it, eh?" Ezekiel asked. Chris chuckled.

"Well, it is guarded inside the Awkanawaw Temple. The temple itself is located on the same island as the somewhat famous Camp Wawanakwa, located somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario. For those of you unfamiliar with geography, that's in Canada," Chris added, failing to suppress a smirk. The six heroes exchanged glances. That box was the key to their victory, and they needed to get it to defeat the Underground. Chris began to float upward again.

"Well, I'm going now. Remember, Awkanawaw Temple, Camp Wawanakwa, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada," he reminded them, before disappearing into the sky once more.

Duncan stood up, fist clenched.

"We're going to get that box," he told them. The others stood up as well, and huddled around Ezekiel. He thought about the place they were heading for, focusing on Chris's departing words. Then, they all disappeared.

FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH

John returned to where he kept Gwen captive, and rolled out his whip again. He struck her once to wake Gwen up. Gwen snapped up, and felt a trickle of blood run down her head.

"Your little friends tried to stop us, and escaped," he explained, lashing out another strike, hitting her on the chin. Gwen just glared at John, trying not to focus on the countless attacks with the whips he used. Finally, he tossed the whip away, and walked up next to her.

"You know what else? I'm real pissed this time. Whipping isn't enough. I'm not... satisfied," he explained, before slipping on his iron knuckles. He stepped back, and reared his fist back. He swung it forward, and mashed his fist into Gwen's stomach. This time, Gwen let out a yell, and began to breathe heavily, feeling tears start to come up to her eyes. John brought his fist out, and put away his iron knuckles. Fishing around in his pockets, he pulled out a small remote switch. He smiled evilly, and pressed the only button on the device. Instantly, Gwen felt an electrical surge through her shackles, and began shouting in pain, struggling to pull away from the pain.

"STOP IT!!!" she pleaded, no longer able to hold back her tears. John laughed, and pressed the button again. Gwen yelled even louder this time, crying silently to herself as the shock wore off slowly. John lifted her head, and looked at Gwen's eyes. Tears streamed down her face, and she had a look begging for her to be let go.

"Forget about eating until we find your friends," he taunted, before walking away and leaving the bathroom. Gwen just let her head droop, and kept sniffling to herself, thinking about things once more. This would be the end. She's never see her family, friends, or Trent ever again. She would die alone in this bathroom, with the torture John did on her everyday, coupled with her starvation.

Suddenly, the door opened again. Gwen gulped, thinking that it was John back for more. Instead, it was a different man, but no doubt a member of the Underground. He looked out the door, as if to scan the halls, and turned back to face Gwen. He was holding something under his jacket suspiciously. The man turned around, and revealed it as a small sandwich. Normally, this would be a simple, barely even a meal. But, right now, Gwen had a fleeting hope that it was hers. But, then she thought of John with his torture, and imagined that he sent one of his men to take his place for a while. Then, the man walked over to her, and put the sandwich up near her mouth.

"Here, eat. You look skinnier than a model," he commented. Gwen took a bite of the sandwich slowly, and enjoyed the taste in her mouth. Ham and cheese, on rye bread. The stranger continued to hold the sandwich up to her mouth until she finished it.

"Thank you SO much!" she thanked him, feeling a lot better than she had in the past few hours. The man nodded, and tipped his hat.

"The name's Eric Renolds, but everyone calls me Slash," he introduced. "And I already know that you are Gwen, seeing as how you're the main cause for all this," he joked. Gwen suddenly glared at Slash.

"You're with the Underground. Why are you helping me?" she asked suspiciously. Slash didn't answer, and instead stared at her many wounds.

"I know for a fact that your power is healing yourself; why don't you?" he asked. Gwen was still suspicious, but answered his question anyway.

"That's just what John wants me to do, so that he can hurt me all he wants. By healing myself, that shows that his tortures hurt that much. In a way, it's my small way of standing up to him," Gwen explained. Slash just nodded in understanding.

"But, doesn't the pain get to you after a while?" he asked. Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you care?" she asked. Slash looked up at Gwen's face, and stared for a couple seconds, looking confused. He turned around, and left the restroom, leaving Gwen alone again.

CAMP WAWANAKWA- TOP OF THE 1000 FOOT HIGH CLIFF

Ezekiel opened his eyes to see if he had arrived at his destination, and only saw the open sky. He looked around, and his eyes widened with fear in the night.

"Guys, watch where you're stepping, eh," he warned, looking at the end of the cliff. He heard five other gasps, so they must have noticed where Ezekiel had landed them.

"You brought us to the top of a... what is this, like, a 1000 foot high cliff!" Duncan exclaimed. Owen looked down.

"Hey, I think that's the camp down there!" he burst out, pointing downward. Sure enough, there was a sign that read 'Camp Wawanakwa' down near the bottom of the giant cliff.

"So, do we jump, or walk all the way down there?" Cody asked.

"It's probably safer to walk all the way down. The water could be shark-infested for all we know," Bridgette told them. The others leaned over to look down at the water, searching for sharks. As Bridgette also made to look, she tripped over a small rock near her feet, and fell forward. Her sudden movement made Owen, Izzy, Duncan, and Cody jump, knocking them off balance. Also, Bridgette tried to regain her balance by pushing off of Ezekiel's body, sending him falling off the edge. At around the same time, Duncan and Owen fell off the cliff as well. Izzy tried to grab Cody, but that caused them both to plummet down into the ocean below. Bridgette tried to stretch down and grab everyone, but the weight of Owen sent her falling down as well. Their screams rang out into the quiet night as they fell.

"**YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**!!!"

One by one, the heroes plopped into the water, until each of them were treading on the surface, keeping afloat. They all glared at Bridgette. The klutz just smiled sheepishly, when her eyes grew wide.

"SHARK!" she screamed, swimming to shore. Immediately, the others saw the shark, and mimicked her actions. Bridgette, Duncan, and (surprisingly) Cody proved to be fast swimmers, getting to shore with ease. Ezekiel and Izzy were fast enough to out swim the shark, but Owen was struggling to move quick enough. When Izzy was about to climb up onto the dock, she saw him in trouble.

"Owen!" she shouted. Owen just let out a yell, trying to escape from the oncoming shark. Izzy quickly dived out, and pushed Owen along toward the shore. Suddenly, the shark jumped up from the water, pouncing onto Izzy. It managed to sink its teeth into her leg, and she fell under.

"Izzy!" Owen shouted, stopping on the spot. As the shark prepared to come back around again, Duncan threw a well-aimed fireball at it to scare the shark away. Owen frantically searched the water for Izzy. Bridgette then leaped gracefully off the dock, and swam over, disappearing under the surface. Duncan, Ezekiel, and Cody watched in worry. Owen just tried to look down under the water and find them. Then, Bridgette emerged from the water with Izzy clinging to her back. The guys cheered as the trio swam to shore. Once out of the water, Izzy was pulled into the moonlight to see her wound. There was a pretty deep bite in her leg, but Izzy claimed that the pain would go away by morning. The heroes dried themselves off, and looked around at Camp Wawanakwa. There were a few cabins they could sleep in for the night. The group walked over to the nearest one, ready to fall asleep. First, Owen placed Izzy on one of then beds, making sure that she was alright. When he was satisfied, he took one across the room from her, while Bridgette climbed onto the bunk on top of Izzy's bed. Duncan climbed above Owen, while Ezekiel took the other top bunk and left Cody the last bottom bunk bed. And, within minutes, they each drifted off to sleep.

FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH- A COUPLE HOURS LATER

John walked back into Gwen's torture chamber, and woke up the sleeping prisoner with a swift crack of his whip. Gwen jumped awake, and tried to glare at John, regardless of how tired she was. John put down the whip, and brought out a knife. Gwen recognized it. John tried to use it on her, but her powers were awakened just before she was hit. John walked up to Gwen.

"You're gonna want to heal after this," he threatened, bringing the tip to about the area where her biceps were. He plunged the knife in, and listened as Gwen took in a deep breath. He began to move the knife down her arm, listening as Gwen quietly moaned in pain at having her arm cut up. Finally, reaching her wrist, he pulled the knife out, and suddenly looked very angry.

"Make this entertaining for me and heal it, damn it!" he spat, bringing the knife back. He stabbed the knife into Gwen's stomach, and watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She smirked at John.

"Not a chance Bellevue," she told him.

Before John could react, Mark walked into the room, looking excited. John, however, looked furious at Mark interrupting him.

"John, wonderful news!" he reported, barely able to contain himself. John narrowed his eyes.

"This better be good if you're interrupting my little torture session," he warned. Mark nodded, and cleared his throat.

"Well, we have found where the other heroes are, and something even bigger!" he told his boss. John looked interested.

"Bigger?" he inquired. Mark nodded, and began elaborating.

"They are searching for the infamous Awkanawaw Temple, where there is an ancient, unimaginable power," he told John. John immediately grew speechless. With power like that just described, he could do more than just get revenge. He could rule the world! He turned to Mark.

"Send all units except for Slash and Josh to go and get that power source before the heroes find it. You are to get that power at all costs, even if it means killing one of the heroes, if not all of them," John ordered. Mark nodded, and ran off. John followed him out soon after.

Gwen let out a sigh of relief, and uncertainty. She was glad the torture was particularly short this time, but now John had a good chance at actually being victorious. She had to warn the others somehow. But, how? The door opening, and Slash walking in interrupted her thoughts.

"I heard everything," he told her. Gwen just stared at Slash. Slash walked over, and brought out a set of keys. He unlocked her shackles, and caught her as she fell to the ground. So that she could stand up straight, Gwen quickly healed her wounds

"Why?" she asked, rubbing her wrists. Slash was about to answer, when the door opened, and another man walked through. He saw the scene before him, but had no time to react. Slash had already thrown a knife at his heart, killing him instantly. He turned back to Gwen.

"Your little reason for not healing yourself helped a little. But, maybe it was just because I'm the only one with a conscience out of the entire Underground," he joked, smiling. Gwen returned the smile, but then looked worried.

"So, now what?" she asked. Slash walked over to the window and opened it. He turned back to Gwen.

"Well, we gotta get to Canada don't we?" he asked. Gwen rolled her eyes, and followed Slash out the window. They ran over towards the street, and Slash looked at a particular car. He ran over, and slid over the hood. He punched the window in, and unlocked the door, setting off the alarm. Gwen looked around in worry, but then saw Slash open the hood, and heard him fiddling around with something. A few seconds later, the alarm shut off, and Slash put the hood down. He climbed into the driver's seat, and unlocked the doors. Gwen climbed into the passenger's seat, and watched as Slash fished around for the keys.

"This your car?" she asked. Slash found the key, and put it in ignition.

"Yeah, but I left the keys inside Lakeside," he admitted, stomping on the gas pedal and peeling out of there.

"Way to plan ahead," Gwen said sarcastically, smirking at him. Slash remained focused on the road, but still answered.

"Hey, I got you out, and we're heading for Canada, right?" he shot back. Gwen shrugged, and decided to stay silent for the remainder of the trip.

Meanwhile, back at Lakeside, John returned to Gwen's torture chamber, only to find Josh dead and Gwen gone. He looked closely at Josh, and noticed a throwing knife in him. He stood up, and scowled.

"Slash..." he mumbled to himself, angered at his traitor friend. Then, an idea hit him, and he grinned evilly.

"_Well, Gwen, you can run all you want. But, I still have something that you want_," he thought, before exiting the restroom.

CAMP WAWANAKWA WOODS- THE NEXT MORNING

The six heroes were walking through the woods in search of the Awkanawaw Temple. Izzy was walking a little slower than usual, and with Owen close by her, just in case. Her leg was fine enough that she could walk, but it was still sore.

"Man, where are we supposed to look for that temple. It's not like there's gonna be a sign saying 'Awkanawaw Temple' or anything," Duncan moped, still a little peeved from last night's events involving the cliff and shark.

"Relax man, we'll find it eventually," Cody assured the pyro, looking around the simple woods. Bridgette was keeping a little close to Ezekiel, and the prairie boy took notice.

"Bridgette, can you give me some space, eh?' he asked. Bridgette just gulped, and looked fearfully around the woods.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm scared of the woods," she admitted. Duncan scoffed. He turned around to look at Bridgette.

"These woods are abandoned, just like the camp! There is nothing here that we have to worry about! No bears, no snakes, no-"

"Big purple Sasquatches?" Owen asked, looking behind Duncan.

"Yeah! No big purple.......... Sasquatches?" Duncan repeated. He turned around, and saw the infamous Sasquatchanakwa. The purple beast let out a roar, and looked angry.

"RUN!" Duncan shouted, taking off. Izzy hopped onto Owen's back, and the heroes ran from the beast, screaming their heads off. Cody took a look behind him, and saw that Sasquatchanakwa was still chasing them.

"He's catching up guys!" he shouted.

"Quick, in that cave, eh!" Ezekiel shouted, pointing to a nearby cave. The group filed into the cave, and listened as the beast kept running past them. They all let out a sigh of relief. Bridgette looked into the cave, and was met with a strange sight.

"Hey, there's a light at the end of the cave," she pointed out. The six walked towards the enticing light. Finally, they reached it, and looked forward, seeing the last thing they ever expected: the Awkanawaw Temple.

* * *

Well, Slash has become a traitor to the Underground! Who will claim the power for themselves? What is John's sudden idea? And is Chris in trouble with his superiors? Find out next time, if it comes up.

You know, I'm gonna take break from this story breifly, until I start up my other story, and put up two oneshots I thought of. So, watch out for my oneshots, and the premier of Futuristic Adventures!


	4. The Fall of Lakeside High

Yeah, this chapter, and the whole story as a matter of fact, is most likely to be shorter than its predecessor. Oh well. I can promise that, in the next chapter, there will be two fighting scenes (although one will be pretty short), and a car chase. After that chapter, I'll try continuing 'More Than Just Playing the Game' to see how that fairs, and then switch back here to this story to finish it. So, with that schedule set, enjoy the next chapter of AotU!

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, and any other minor characters.

* * *

"Well, what do you know?" Cody said out loud, breaking the silence. Ezekiel began to walk, stopping to turn around at the others.

"Shall we go in, eh?" he beckoned. Izzy hopped of Owen's back, and the six headed inside the temple. Inside was a pretty small and empty room. But, a distance away stood a statue of a man, who held an ax in hand, holding it toward the sky. The heroes could only assume that the statue would help them find the box. Ezekiel led them over to the statue, and all of them stopped in front of it, waiting for something to happen. The statue's eyes suddenly lit up, and it's arms lowered to the side. Ezekiel walked in front of the statue.

"We're here for the box, eh," he told the statue. The statue turned its head to look at the prairie boy, and suddenly held the ax above its head. Ezekiel jumped back, the metal blade just missing him. The statue returned to holding its arms at its side, and suddenly began to speak.

"_You may take the Ancient Box of Power, when you can tell me the name of one of its creators,_" it challenged. The others exchanged glances. Chris never mentioned a name. But, surprisingly, Ezekiel stepped forward.

"One of the names was Wawanakwa, who later had a camp named after him, eh," he declared. The others watched intently for the statue's reaction.

"_That is correct. You may now take the Ancient Box of Power for your own use,_" it told them, before suddenly disappearing. The heroes looked behind the spot where the statue once stood, and saw the box on top of a pedestal. Ezekiel stepped forward once more, and grabbed the box. They all smiled, feeling hopeful.

Then, they heard thudding footsteps. The six heroes turned around, and saw the source of the noise: The Underground! Five of them were holding weapons, while the sixth guy (Francis) took a fighting stance, unarmed. One of the members (Mark) stepped forward, a sword in hand.

"Give us the box, now," he ordered. Ezekiel looked at the box, and then placed it under the torque on his head. He stared back over at the Underground.

"Come and get it, eh," he challenged. Mark scowled, and then pointed his sword forward.

"CHARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGEEE!!!" he shouted. The twelve fighters rushed at each other, picking someone to fight. Ezekiel took on Mark, while Owen took on Francis. Cody clashed with Jeremy, who had a machine gun. Izzy took on the man with bow and arrows named Carlos, while Duncan fought Craig, who had a baseball bat. That left Phil, with an ax, to fight Bridgette.

Mark easily kept Ezekiel on his toes with his many sword techniques. Soon, he managed to catch the prairie boy off-guard and slashed at his sweatshirt. Ezekiel growled, and spat a fireball in his face in retaliation. It left a small burn along his face, but the two kept fighting. Duncan just barely jumped out of the way as Craig swung the bat around again. As Craig ran at him for another swing, Duncan ran right back at him. At the last second, he dived and slid under Craig's legs. He quickly moved, and lit the wooden bat on fire. Craig noticed, and tossed the bat to the side. He then turned around, and tackled Duncan to the ground. Izzy had dodged quite a few of Carlos's arrows, and used her telekinesis to pick them all up. She fired them back towards the archer, and arrows collided in mid-air. The speed caused a few to disintegrate, and Carlos was running low on arrows. When he shot his last arrow, and tossed his bow to the ground and ran at Izzy. Cody had managed to dismantle Jeremy's machine gun from a distance, and was now trying not to get punched in the face. As for Bridgette, she was just trying to outrun Phil, who was wildly swinging his ax around. Owen was kept on par with Francis, who seemed to have ninja-like skills. After the umpteenth time of being punched in the stomach, Owen groaned, and fell to his knees.

"You asked for it," he managed to speak. Francis raised an eyebrow. Owen turned around and took a deep breath. Then, he let loose a loud, smelly, nasty, stinky, disgusting, repulsive.... err, anyway, he broke enough wind for a hurricane, with the smell to match. All fighting immediately stopped, as each of the twelve fighters collpased from the sheer stink of Owen's gas. As Ezekiel fell over, his torque fell off, and the box fell out. Mark managed to find the willpower to reach over and grab it. He also stood up, holding his breath, and began to make a break for the door out of there.

But, before he could make it, a large obstruction broke through the temple, hit him, and sent him flying across the room. As he hit the wall, Mark dropped the box, and it landed on the ground. The new large hole in the wall allowed Owen's gas to exit their current area, and everyone looked toward the obstruction. It was a car, with a driver and a passenger.

"Slash?!" Craig exclaimed.

"Gwen?!" Bridgette shouted at the same time. The two stepped out of the car, and looked around.

"Guess we're a little late to the party, huh?" Slash asked, bringing out two knives.

"Where's the box?" Gwen asked, scanning the room. The others immediately looked over toward where Mark fell, and saw the box sitting there. They all stood up, and there was a mad dash to get the box. Owen was first to grab it, but then Jeremy stole it from him, but not after Duncan knocked him down and took it. Craig kicked him in the nuts and grabbed the box, but Cody ripped it out of his hands only to have Francis judo-chop him down. Bridgette stretched her arm in and grabbed it, but Carlos snatched it from her clutches. Izzy punched him in the face, and tried to run. But, the entire Underground was rushing at her. Slash ran forward, and took it from Izzy. He skidded to a halt beside the Underground, holding the box. The heroes had managed to move toward the car that Slash and Gwen arrived in.

"Nice going, man," Phil congratulated. The others agreed, and patted his back. Slash looked at the heroes, and threw the box to Gwen. He turned around and slashed Phil's neck. He took a quick glance at the heroes.

"Go! I'll hold them off!" he shouted, whipping out another knife. Ezekiel quickly recovered his torque, and then the seven heroes piled into Slash's car, with Duncan as the driver. He turned the car on, set it in reverse, and slammed on the gas. The car flew backward through the cave, with Duncan keeping a close eye on where he was going. When he reached the small clearing, he turned the wheel, and peeled away from the cave. Using skills and quick reflexes, Duncan managed to swerve through the trees with ease. When the camp came back into sight, Duncan lost his confidence.

"We're on an island! How's he drive onto here?!" he shouted at Gwen. Gwen pressed a button on the dash panel, and there was a sound just below and behind the vehicle. Ezekiel stuck his head out the window to see what it was.

"Hey, it's a raft and motor, like a car motor boat, or something!" he shouted, watching the car slide right into the ocean. At first, they just floated idly near the dock, and then Gwen flipped a switch. The car/ motor boat took off across the ocean, returning to the mainland.

**FLORIDA- LAKESIDE HIGH**

John walked toward the other prisoners he had chained up, and walked over to a particular one.

"Hello... Trent," he greeted. Trent glared at him. John held up the keys to his shackles.

"You're coming with me," he told him.

"What if i refuse?" Trent rasped, his throat dry from not talking for almost a day. John held up a strange device. He pressed a button on it, and Trent felt a powerful electric current shoot into his body. The pain made him fall unconscious immediately.

"I have my ways," John replied, pocketing the device. The others just watched wearily as john unlocked Trent, and began to drag him away. But, before leaving, John stopped to stare at them.

"Yeah, I'm going to blow this place to smithereens. So... good luck surviving!" he taunted, walking out. The others looked up quickly. They began to try and shake themselves free, to attempt to escape from the bomb.

Outside, John had tied Trent's hands behind his back, and tied his ankles together and tossed him in the back seat of his car. He looked back at Lakeside, and pulled out his device once again. He pressed another button, and an explosion sounded out. The roof blew into the sky, and debris was already falling to the ground. The entire building collapsed onto to the ground, and John merely climbed into his car and left. He began to head northward, toward the particular home of one of the heroes.

**A Few Hours Later...**

The seven heroes looked in horror of what used to be Lakeside High. Now, the entire building had been destroyed, and littered the ground.

"I can't believe it," Gwen uttered, staring at the mess that used to be her school, and prison. Duncan ran towards the debris.

"Courtney!" he shouted, rummaging through the mess. Bridgette, Gwen, and Ezekiel also began to search for their loved ones, with Cody, Owen, and Izzy searching for any kind of survivor. After a few minutes, Cody piped up.

"Harold!" The others heard, and rushed over to see the time traveler. They pulled Harold into standing, and saw what had happened. His glasses had shattered, and his entire body was either bruised or bloody.

"What happened?" Owen asked. Harold groaned, and lifted his head up to look at Owen.

"John.... he took Trent, and then blew up the school, with us all in it," he explained. The others looked worried, and then stared at Gwen. She looked crestfallen.

"He took Trent?" she asked, tears already forming in her eyes. Harold nodded. She quickly and quietly healed Harold. They all began to search for more survivors, with Gwen coming by to heal everyone. They managed to find Lindsay, but then made a shocking discovery.

"Guys! It's Leshawna! She's...." Bridgette trailed off. The others rushed over, and were met with a terrible sight. Leshawna had been crushed and stabbed when the building fell down, and her bottom half was lodged into part of the roof. Gwen claimed that she could only heal people when they were still alive. So, Bridgette moved the roof part back over Leshawna's body. It wasn't the best grave, but it would have to do. Things only got more depressing when Harold found DJ's body, which had a support beam through it. Harold had to go puke when he found the sickening sight, and managed to inform the others. But, things were a little better when Ezekiel found a special someone.

"Heather!" he shouted, picking her up from the debris. Heather's shackles had ripped the skin off of her wrists and ankles, and her left ankle was swollen pretty badly. Luckily, Gwen's powers got rid of her injuries. The prairie boy and former mean girl shared a quick hug before looking for more survivors. Next, Izzy found another person: Geoff. The party boy had broken his arms, and seemed to have bent his leg at an odd angle, but Gwen fixed it all. But, the next body was sure to create the biggest depression of all.

"Oh no.... Tyler!" Owen shouted. Lindsay ran over faster than anyone, and saw the jock. She gasped, and dropped down near his body. The sharp roof shingles had cut him open all along the front, splattering his front with a massive amount of blood.

"Tyler!!!" Lindsay screeched, before burying her face in tears. Bridgette walked over, and hugged the blonde in comfort. There was only one more prisoner still not found yet. But, that was quickly changed.

"Courtney!" Duncan shouted in joy, picking up his girlfriend. Although in pain, Courtney found the strength to hug her over-joyed boyfriend back. Gwen quickly healed her, and left the two to each other. But, their happiness was short-lived, as Courtney requested to go and comfort Lindsay. Lindsay was surrounded by Bridgette, Gwen, Courtney, and Heather in one big hug, while the guys stood to the side in silence.

**Later, at Gwen's House**

The twelve heroes were all sitting around in Gwen's living room. Lindsay was sitting alone in a recliner, curled up and sniffling every few seconds. Ezekiel, Duncan, and Geoff were all sitting with their girlfriends, happy to be reunited. Well, Owen was also sitting with Izzy, but they were never separated. Cody and Harold were sitting on a different couch, with Gwen in her own chair, flipping through the channels. The box was sitting alone on the table. They had no idea where John and Trent were, and were at a loss at what to do. Suddenly, Gwen's television turned to static.

"What the?" Gwen began, pressing all the buttons on the remote. Then, a familiar face appeared on screen.

"It's John!" Cody exclaimed. All eyes turned to the screen, which showed John sitting alone in a dark room. But, there was something familiar about it.

"_Hello, Gwen,_" John began. The others listened, waiting for him to continue. John chuckled, and the screen showed Trent tied up on a very familiar couch.

"_In case you haven't been able to tell by now, Trent and I are hiding in your infamous shack. Yeah, I know about it. But, onto business. I have something you want, and you have something I want. If you ever want to see Trent alive, bring the box to the shack within one hour._" The message ended, and returned to regular television.

The others stared at Gwen. They knew how much Trent meant to her, but was it worth risking the ancient box with untold power inside? Gwen grabbed the box, and walked toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Harold asked. Gwen looked at the nerd.

"I'm going to get my boyfriend back," she answered, walking out the door. The other eleven heroes headed outside after her. Geoff ran to catch up with her, and grabbed Gwen's shoulder. Gwen turned around. The others managed to catch up.

"We're right behind you, but don't forget that I can teleport," Geoff reminded her. Gwen sighed, and the others huddled around Geoff. Then, they disappeared.

**CAMP WAWANAKWA**

Slash was crawling on his hands on knees. He had managed to kill off nearly every Underground member, except for Craig, who had escaped. Now, he was stranded on Wawanakwa Island, with no means of getting back home. As he was crawling, he heard the sounds of a helicopter. Looking up, he saw a helicopter with 'RCMP' painted on its side. The helicopter landed down, and Slash let out a sigh of relief. But, the exhaustion finally caught up to him, and he collapsed. Just as he was fading out, he heard several people rushing over to get him.

* * *

Well, as Toritona guessed, John did indeed have Trent. I've also killed off three more heroes, narrowing it down to twelve freed heroes, Trent, and Slash. Only one more hero will be killed, and it'll be in the next chapter! But, who's the unlucky victim I've chosen? Will Gwen and John follow through with their deal? And what about Slash and Craig; what will happen to them? Stay tuned and find out! R&R!


	5. A Faint Glimmer of Hope

There is only one more chapter after this, and then a pretty short epilogue. Next, watch out for the continuation of 'More Than Just Playing the Game'. I took the entire day to finish this (mostly), especially the battle scene.

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, Zetkik, and any other minor characters.**

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**

**NORTH CAROLINA- SUPERHUMAN SHACK**

Gwen and the others appeared inside the superhuman shack to find John, who was surprised by their sudden and quick appearance, and Trent, who was still on a couch. Gwen glared at John, but showed him the box, while the others stayed in the background during the exchange. John smirked, and looked carefully at the box.

"I knew you couldn't risk your beloved Trent, even for this powerful device," John commented, reaching out to grab it. Gwen yanked it out of his reach, and scowled at her arch-enemy.

"First, free Trent!" she demanded. John narrowed his eyes, and then pulled out a knife, bringing it towards Trent's neck. Gwen took in a short breath of panic.

"First the box," he demanded, holding out his hand. Gwen sighed, and placed the box in his hands. John smiled evilly, and then dropped the knife on the floor. He placed his hand over its apparent top, and began to push to pull. Much to everyone's surprise, the lid began to creak open slowly, and a bright green light exited the box. It began to enter John's body, all while he was laughing like a maniac. Finally, the light all went inside John, and he dropped the box. The ground began to shake, and John looked at his hand, feeling strength flow through it. He looked over at Trent, and then smirked at Gwen.

"You know what? I changed my mind. Trent's as good as gone!" he declared, watching Gwen's eyes grow wide.

"No!" she shouted, trying to rush over and save Trent. John grabbed her, and threw her into the other heroes. Grinning wickedly, he turned Trent to face him, and reared his fist back. Suddenly, the whole room grew quiet and John looked back at Gwen one more time with his evil smirk.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Everyone heard the strange shout, and looked up. For some reason, they could also make out the sound of helicopter blades. Then, there was a loud **CRASH!**The heroes watched in awe as John was struck down to the ground by someone, and there was now a hole in the roof. Gwen ran over and untied Trent. The two embraced briefly before returning to the others. With that out of the way, they finally recognized who had landed on John.

"Slash!" Gwen shouted. The man stood up, groaning and holding his head.

"That's my name..." he answered, rubbing his head. A few seconds later, there was a loud crashing noise a little ways away, followed by an explosion. Slash suddenly looked wide-eyed.

"Ah crap! I forgot about the helicopter!" he shouted.

"Say what?" Owen asked. Slash sighed.

"It's a long story, but now I'm wanted by the RCMP for stealing a helicopter........ and wrecking it," he added. Izzy walked over to him, grinning like a madman...... madwoman.

"Really? Me too! Well, actually it's because I-" Izzy was cut off as Harold let out a shout.

"John's getting up guys!" he pointed to the shape slowly returning to its feet. He looked angry, and Slash was the first to say anything as John growled.

"RUN!!!" The thirteen heroes and Slash immediately took off out of the cabin, with John following close after. They managed to keep barely ahead by using the placement of trees. Finally, when they reached the road, Slash ran into the road, stopping the nearest car. When the driver screeched to a halt, Slash ran over to him, punched in the window, and grabbed the driver. He tossed the driver to the side, and hopped in the driver's seat. By then, the others had huddled over, and somehow all managed to fit into the car. Although it was very uncomfortable, and Duncan, Izzy, and Harold had to sit in the trunk while it was open. As they peeled out of there, John also stole someone's car, taking off after them.

Slash was the driver, and was keeping a pretty fast speed while maneuvering around the cars in front of him. Then, he looked in the mirror, and noticed John following after them. He pushed down harder on the gas, and honked at the cars to move out of the way. One car hadn't moved fast enough, and Slash had to act quickly. He spun the wheel, and the car began to lean toward one side. But, luckily, Owen's weight managed to keep it from tipping over. He grinned, when he saw John use his new found powers to fly over said car. He growled to himself, and kept driving on. It was a surprise that they hadn't gotten in trouble with the law yet, Slash thought, just managing to slide past another idiotic driver. He looked ahead and noticed that they were about to drive onto a bridge. He zoomed right through the toll, but Duncan managed to toss enough money at the person working the toll. Then, John sped right by, throwing the money at her as he drove. Slash looked at his mirror, and gulped. John was catching up fast, and there was no way to dodge him on the bridge. His only hope was to get to the other side, and take a tricky road. But, just then, Harold let out a shout.

"He's gonna hit! Brace yourselves!" Slash squinted his eyes tight. Then, there was a loud crash, and Slash felt the car jump a little. He had let go of the wheel by accident and gasped.

"Hold on!" he shouted. Then, as the car touched ground again, it shook to the side, turning toward the edge of the bridge. With it's high speed, the car broke through the bridge beam, and began plummeting into the water below. Slash panicked, and kicked the door open.

"Get out of the car!" he screamed at the others, before leaping off the side. Duncan, Izzy, and Harold had already fallen out, and Owen rolled out of the door. The others jumped soon after, all plopping into the water. Last, the van hit the surface. It began to fill up with water, and slowly sank to the bottom. The others resurfaced, and began swimming to the nearby shore. They all crawled up onto the shore, coughing and hacking. they noticed that the sun was going to set soon, and decided to just camp out there for the night.

**Later that evening...**

After another long day, most of the heroes had fallen asleep just as the sun was setting. Well, except for one, heart-broken, and vengeful soul. Lindsay made sure that everyone else had fallen asleep before standing up. She felt a pang of sadness looking at the other couples cuddle together in the cold night. She sighed, and began to walk back toward the bridge, alone. Although the walk was long, she reached it in no time. John had been standing there on the bridge, almost as if he knew that she was coming. Lindsay scowled, and ran at him, wanting to get him back for killing Tyler. But, John had punched her as soon as she had come near. With his awesome power, the blow had knocked Lindsay painfully to the ground. She stood up and tried to hit him again, but John kneed her in the stomach. Lindsay grabbed her stomach, and fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face from the massive pain. She tried to reach out and just grab his leg, but John kicked her down. Lindsay lied on her back, gasping in pain. John picked her up, and tossed her over the side of the bridge, watching as she fell down into the water. Satisfied, he smirked, and set his sights on the Wawanakwa City. In the time since the battle between the superhumans and Eva, it had been rebuilt. He decided to take care of that, and began walking over to it.

**The next morning...**

Bridgette was the first to wake up, slightly sore from sleeping on the ground. She yawned, and stretched her body out a little bit to get feeling in her body. She looked around at the other sleeping heroes (and Slash). She noticed that one of them was missing, Lindsay. She looked around, and decided that she had already woken up, or had fallen asleep invisible. She walked over to the water to splash some in her eyes to better wake her up. As she leaned down to scoop some of it in her hands, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned around, and her heart jumped.

"What the hell?! Lindsay!" she screeched, disturbing the calm peace in the air. The others slowly stirred, save for Slash, who had jumped up, knife in hand.

"Where's the guy at??!!" he shouted, looking around quickly. He saw Bridgette looking shocked, and then saw what she was looking at.

"Whoa, what happened?" he asked. By now, the others had woken up, and looked around.

"Whaz going on?" Duncan mumbled sleepily, his mohawk ruffled up on one side.

"Lindsay's dead," Slash replied bluntly. The others jumped right up, wide awake, and saw that Lindsay was indeed gone, based on the unmoving body just feet away. The heroes sighed, and looked down at the ground. Another hero dead. Even worse, they heard the sounds of destruction a little ways away. When they looked up to the source, they saw the newly rebuilt being knocked down, most likely due to John. It seemed that there was no hope for a good future now.

"Hey, dudes! Heads up!" The others looked up upon hearing Chris's voice, and were shocked to see a teenager like themselves. He was wearing a hat, although not a torque, with his blonde hair jutting out from under it. He had on skater clothes, and was slouching now.

"Chris?" Geoff asked. The teenager just chuckled.

"I'm going for a new look, and changed my name to Jude. How do I look?" Chris/ Jude asked **(special treat for who gets the reference!)**. The heroes just looked him over.

"It looks...." Harold began. Jude looked at him intently. Harold scratched his chin, and then smiled. "Awesome!" Jude pumped his fist back.

"Alright! I told Chef it was awesome!" he exclaimed.

"Why are you here anyway Chris.... I mean Jude," Courtney corrected herself. Jude then looked confused, and scratched his head.... well, hat.

"Huh, why did I come down here?' he asked out loud. The others sighed in annoyance. finally, Jude snapped his fingers.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I came down to help you guys defeat John!" he exclaimed with realization. The others groaned.

"How are we supposed to do that? He's gotten the power from the ancient box? We're screwed," Duncan reminded him. Jude nodded.

"Well, even so, there is one way to take the power back and lock it up again," he revealed.

"How?" Ezekiel asked. Jude cleared his throat.

"Well, it's a very...... difficult task, to say the least. You have to fight and defeat this.... thing," he told them slowly.

"That doesn't sound so hard, eh" Ezekiel shrugged. The others nodded in agreement. Jude sighed.

"This isn't just anything you're fighting. It's a legendary machine created by our people as a secret weapon. But, it was too powerful, and we had to seal it in a special place. Still willing to try?" he asked. The others hesitated for a minute, but Ezekiel stepped up.

"Whatever it takes, eh. Take us to it," he ordered. Jude signaled for the others to surround him, and they began to float into the air.

"Oh yeah," Jude exclaimed while they were floating. "I forgot to mention its name! It's name is Zetsumei-Kikai, or Zetkik for short. When translated word-for-word, it literally means 'death-machine'. Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that before, heh heh," Jude chuckled lightly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. Most of the other heroes and Slash looked horrified at having to fight this thing. They arrived in front of a large door, with 'Do Not Open!' written in large letters all across the door. The heroes were feeling like backing down right about now. But, it was a little late for that, as Jude had already pushed the door open a little, and ushered them inside.

"Good luck guys!" Jude shouted, before slamming the door shut.

The heroes gulped, and looked around. They were in a dark, circular room. Nothing could be seen in the vast darkness.

"Hellooooooooooo??!!" Izzy called out. The others jumped. Just after that, the lights flipped on, and the heroes were faced with a giant machine: Zetkik. It's head was an upside triangle, with a single fourth tip jutting out from the top. It had small, beady black eyes, that could barely be seen through a small opening. It's one arm was a long, shining claw, while the other had a large hammer on end. And, at the bottom, were dangerous treads, much like on a tank. On it's stomach was a complex and strange symbol. Zetkik let out a ferocious roar, causing the ground to shake. In the face of this massive danger, Slash only had one thing to say.

"Oh, shit."

The others slowly nodded in agreement, and were surprised when Zetkik began rolling towards them, ready to swing its hammer down. They all leaped out of the way, and prepared to fight the massive beast. Heather created a bunch of clones, and sent them to climb up the machine and look for a weak point. Realizing this, Trent also began to fly upwards.

"Trent! Look out!" Gwen shouted. Trent looked over, and saw Zetkik swinging its claw at him. He tried to move out of the way, but the very tips swiped him into the wall, which he slammed into face first. Then, he fell backwards, and hit the ground in pain. Gwen ran over and quickly healed him. Around the same time, Zetkik shook off the Heather clones, sending them falling to the ground and disappearing. Heather growled at her plan not working, when Zetkik began rolling towards her. She backed up, and realized that she was stuck against a wall. She let out a scream, when Ezekiel appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her, and they transported away from the spot. When Heather opened her eyes, she tightly hugged Ezekiel.

"My hero!" she shouted. Ezekiel gasped.

"Heather! Can't.... breathe!" Heather let him go, and he caught his breath. Gwen noticed, and let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," she commented. Then, she looked back over at Zetkik, and saw the hammer coming down towards her. She had no way of dodging the massive hammer, and was crushed into the ground, losing consciousness. Trent gasped, and then glared at Zetkik. He flew like a bullet towards its eyes, and held his fist out, punching one of its beady eyes. The monster let out a sound of distress, and began swinging its arms around, rolling around in a circle. Among the victims of this little tantrum were Trent, Courtney, and Cody, who were all knocked out by the painful strikes. Duncan growled, and let out an inferno at Zetkik's stomach. The monster roared in agony again, with the intense heat hitting it. Finally, Zetkik swiped its claws down, and smashed Duncan into a wall, and he fell to the ground. Now, its stomach was slightly melted, screwing up the symbol on it. Behind the machine, Bridgette had stretched herself out from wall-to-wall, and was waiting for an attack on Zetkik. Owen ran up, jumped, and threw his large stomach at the monster. The power of the move caused Owen to bounce backward, and roll a little bit, but it still worked. Zetkik was pushed back hard enough that it began to fall over Bridgette's outstretched body. The only real problem was that Geoff was standing back there at the time, and didn't see it falling until it was too late. Fortunately, Geoff was only smashed into the ground, and not killed. Bridgette snapped back into place, and grinned at her plan working. Then, she noticed that Zetkik was slowly standing up, and panicked. The angered machine swung its hammer down, and crushed Bridgette before she could escape. With over half the heroes knocked out, the last six fighters gathered together to face Zetkik.

"What are we going to do?" Harold asked. Ezekiel tapped his chin.

"We need to take care of his other eye, and maybe that'll blind him while we look for a way to take him out, eh," he suggested. Izzy looked up at Zetkik.

"I'll do it," she responded. The others just looked at her, but Owen looked worried. Izzy ran at the machine, and jumped on its treads as it stood still. She watched as Zetkik swung its hammer down to try and hit her. It missed, and created a good-sized dent in the treads. She continued running up the side of the machine, using her telekinesis to keep herself from falling. When Izzy arrived at the head, she brought her fist back, and punched Zetkik in its good eye. The monster let out another roar, reaching to grab its face. Izzy tried to jump out of the way, but the claw had teared at her leg, and she was now plummeting face-first towards the ground. Owen immediately ran over to catch her, and the two fell to the ground. The two smiled at each other, until the blinded Zetkik accidentally swung its hammer near them, knocking them into the wall. Zetkik continued swinging its arms around in a frenzy, hoping to hit another hero. But, then, it scraped across the symbol on its stomach and let out another screech. Slash quickly took notice.

"The symbol!" he shouted, before charging at the machine.

"Slash!" Harold called out. The former Underground member brought out a knife, and leaped up towards the symbol on Zetkik's stomach. Its claw swung by and scratched across his stomach, but Slash managed to keep calm. As he drew closer, Slash thrust the knife forward, and cut at Zetkik's body. The blow was so powerful, the knife went through, and Slash began sliding down the symbol, cutting it as he fell. Finally, he let go of the knife, and plummeted to the ground, holding his stomach in pain. Ezekiel, Heather, and Harold (being the only other conscious people there) ran over and huddled around him. They looked up as Zetkik began to shake from the critical hit it had taken. Finally, there was a loud whirring sound, and then silence. The four looked at the no longer active machine in awkward silence. Ezekiel finally spoke.

"So, is it-"

**KABLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!**

The four heroes were now covered in soot from Zetkik. Except for its head, which clanked onto the ground.

".... over," Ezekiel finished, coughing a little. Jude opened the door, and looked inside. He noticed that Zetkik's head was all that remained, and let out a whoop.

"I can't believe it! You guys did it!" he shouted with joy. Harold looked confused.

"Yeah, but how does this help us defeat John?" he asked. Jude walked over, and picked up Zetkik's head, handing it to Harold.

"It can absorb the power from the box," he explained, grinning widely. The four exchanged glances. Jude looked over at the unconscious heroes, and chuckled.

"Pretty brutal battle, huh?" he asked. Slash sighed, and held his stomach.

"You have no idea. Even better is the fact that we're all going to be wiped out when we go and fight John," he added, managing to stand up. Jude snapped his fingers, and all of the knocked out heroes all floated right next to him. He snapped his fingers again, and little balls of light floated into each one of them, including the four that were still awake. Immediately, all of the heroes were up, and feeling re-energized. They were explained what Zetkik's head was for, and were now ready to face John. They all huddled around Jude, and disappeared from the room.

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Well, next chapter is the final battle, along with one more little event that will lead to trouble. Oh yeah, and now Slash is wanted by the RCMP, along with Izzy, heh heh. Whoever can get the reference of Chris becoming Jude first gets a special, but small cameo next chapter. Well, I'm pretty tired now. R&R


	6. Victory, with a Catch

It's really short, but the next chapter will be the epilogue, which could possibly be even shorter. Anyway, this story is obviously coming to a close, and without the same fame that its predecessor knew. Ah well. Congrats on easily spotting the 6teen reference, which is another show that I like. I put in another one, along with my promised small cameo.

Disclaimer: I do not own TDI, 6teen, or any of its characters, but I do own Slash, John, and every other member of the Underground, Zetkik, and any other minor characters.

**

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UNKNOWN AREA**

Craig looked on the television set, particularly interested in Slash. He knew one thing that would turn Slash from hero to zero, and set off to do just that.

**WAWANAKWA CITY- 10 MINUTES EARLIER**

Looking around, the superhumans found themselves in a familiar place. Well, at least it would be, if Wawanakwa City wasn't half-destroyed right now.

"Well, I'm kinda stuck here," Jude admitted. The others looked at him.

"What are you talking about?" Duncan asked, unibrow raised.

"I used way too much power dudes. Now, I have to stay here and recharge my powers for a while. Don't worry, I'll still get to see if you guys can kick John's ass… or not," Jude added, chuckling slightly after he did. The others sighed, and looked ahead. John was lighting a building on fire just a ways ahead. Harold held up Zetkik's head.

"How do you work this thing?" he asked, shaking it a little. Suddenly, a beam of bright blue light shot out from the head, and headed for John. The heroes watched in awe as the beam enveloped John for a few seconds, and then retreated back into the head. Jude grabbed the head, and began to take off.

"I'll keep it safe for you guys! Good luck with John dudes!" he called out, before disappearing into a random building. The superhumans looked ahead, and saw that John was confused as to why his powers had suddenly disappeared. Taking advantage of this, Ezekiel called out.

"Hey John! It's over!" John looked over, and scowled.

"I beat you guys once, and I can do it again!" he challenged, slipping on his iron knuckles. Slash drew a knife, and pointed at John.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGGGEEE!!!" he called. With that, John ran towards the heroes, as did they.

Courtney ran up, and managed to get the first hit at John with a right hook to his jaw.

"That's my girl!" Duncan called out. Courtney blushed at looked at him, when John grabbed her arm. Courtney turned back around, and John punched her right in the forehead. The attack knocked her down immediately. Duncan growled. He blasted another fire jet at John, making him run a little ways away.

"I am sick of you guys beating on my girl!" he shouted, before running at John and tackling him to the ground. He managed to land on top of John, who was facedown. Duncan turned John around to look at him, and punched him three times in the face before John punched him back, and slipped out of the pin. Duncan, still dizzy from the sudden punch, couldn't move fast enough to dodge the next punch. The hit knocked a tooth out, and Duncan took one step to the side before falling to the ground in pain. Geoff transported right in front of john, and quickly punched him with an uppercut. When John stumbled back, Ezekiel charged into his back, and slammed him forward. Still unable to regain his balance, Owen ran forward, and threw his stomach to knock John further back. John went right into some building wreckage, and groaned from the triple threat. John stood back up, and noticed a metal pole that was conveniently lying around, and picked it up. He ran at his enemies, swinging the pole as he ran like a madman. The superhumans scrambled, and John singled out Harold.

"Say goodnight!" he shouted, raising the pole above his head. Harold panicked, and closed his eyes, waiting for the worst. When nothing happened, he opened one eye slowly.

He was surprised at what he saw. The entire area was a dull gray, with nothing moving. Harold sighed in relief, when he realized that it was his time control powers in effect. He chuckled evilly, and set to work. First, he undid John's belt, and pulled down his pants. With an evil smirk much like Duncan's, he pulled out a pen, and drew on his face too. Then, deciding on a grand finale, he noticed a dog nearby that was about to pee on a fire hydrant. He walked over, grabbed the dog, and brought it over to John. He positioned the dog to pee on John, and then stood behind John. Then, he allowed time to reoccur. Suddenly, there was a loud clang, as John hit the ground where Harold once was. Then, he felt the dog peeing on him, and tried to step to the side. Instead, he tripped over his pants, exposing his red boxers to the world. The other heroes registered what happened, and began to laugh madly at John, who now looked utterly pathetic. Harold turned to them, raised his hands, and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you," he mocked, unable to suppress a grin. John pulled up his pants, and stood up. He brought the bar back up again, ready to swing at Harold. But, the nerd's highly trained ears heard the sound, and he whipped his fist back at John's nose, hitting him directly in the face. John fell to the ground once again, and the heroes cheered for Harold. John growled on the ground, and grabbed Harold's leg, yanking. The nerd fell onto his face, and groaned. John brought the pipe up again, and managed to hit Harold over the head this time, knocking him out.

John stood back up, looking pretty pissed off now. He clutched the metal pole tight, and stepped over Harold's unconscious body. He looked at the remaining ten heroes, and brought the metal pole back. They all looked confused for a moment, when John threw it right at them! It smacked Cody right in the head, and he fell backwards, knocked out. Bridgette stretched her fist back, and snapped it forward at John's face. The attack sent John flying, and his nose began gushing blood. He wiped some away after his rough landing, and saw another fist approaching him. He dodged, and grabbed Bridgette's arm, looking smug. Bridgette gulped.

"Crap!" she exclaimed, when John pulled on her arm, and sent her flying. She flew past John, and hit her face on a building that hadn't fallen yet. As she fell, Trent took off to catch her, as Geoff was still in shock. But, as Trent flew over John, he jumped up, and grabbed onto Trent. The added, awkward weight made Trent slowly descend, until they hit the ground, and rolled out of control. Trent smacked right into the same building as Bridgette, who landed on him soon after. John had managed to regain his composure, and looked at the remaining seven heroes. But, when he looked up, they were gone.

"What the?" he thought, just before it began.

Geoff appeared out of seemingly nowhere again, with another uppercut to send him stumbling backwards. Ezekiel rammed into his back, sending him forward into Owen's large stomach. As he soared through the air, Slash ran up, and jumped onto his stomach, sliding his back across the ground. As he skidded to a halt, Slash stepped off of John's body, just as Heather and Gwen walked over. They smirked down on him.

"Too bad John, we're still alive," Gwen taunted. John just growled, when he heard sirens. Then, Izzy jumped out of the car, and pointed over to where the three of them were.

"There he is officer!" she called. The officer stared at Izzy suspiciously.

"By any chance, are you Izzy?" he asked, eyeing her up. Izzy shook her head.

"My name is… Nikki… Nikki Wong," she replied, plastering a fake smile on her face. The gullible officer took the bait and left Izzy alone, going over to arrest John. John was picked up, and taken into the police car as he was read his rights.

The heroes all gathered together, and noticed that some of their friends were waking up: Harold, Duncan, Courtney, Trent, Bridgette, and Cody. As they all went over to help them up, the residents of Wawanakwa City ran up to them, cameras all ready. They noticed that an important looking man walked up near them.

"Well, Mayor Angel, what do you think of these fine young heroes?" a nearby reporter asked. The mayor cleared her (?) throat, and was about to answer, when a familiar face popped up in front of the camera: Craig.

"This guy!" he shouted, pointing to Slash, and turning him around, revealing that the back of his jacket had 'Underground' across it. Craig turned around, and showed that his jacket had the same thing.

"Was part of the Underground, John's organization! He's no hero, he was under John's leadership before!" he announced. The audience gasped loudly. Slash looked at Craig.

"You know, you're exposing yourself too," he pointed out. Craig's once confident face turned to realization.

"Oh," he uttered. "Probably shoulda thought this out more," he commented. There was an awkward silence.

"Arrest those men!" Mayor Angel called out. Two cops walked up with handcuffs and took Slash and Craig away in a manner similar to John. The heroes were about to protest, but Geoff pulled them into a huddle.

"We'll take care of it later. For now, just pretend that we're with it," he whispered quickly. With that, John, Craig, and Slash were hauled off ti jail, and the heroes spent the majority of the day on TV.

**THAT NIGHT**

Slash was alone in his cell, although he hadn't had anything confiscated yet. The police were busy with John at the moment, with Craig soon to follow. Then, Geoff suddenly appeared in his cell. Slash immediately understood, and Geoff wrapped his hand around Slash. The two disappeared, without the cameras or guards ever catching anything. Slash looked around. They were in a rather sandy, empty town, much like in those old cowboy movies. He turned to Geoff.

"Where am I?" he asked. Geoff shrugged.

"Some town in Mexico," he replied.

"Why Mexico?" Slash asked, looking around at the town. Geoff chuckled.

"Well, you're wanted in the United States and Canada, so this is the only country in North America that you're safe in," Geoff explained. Slash looked at Geoff in disbelief.

"One problem," he told Geoff, who perked up. "Me no speaky Espanola," he told Geoff. Geoff shrugged.

"Then learn," he replied, before turning on the spot, and disappearing. Slash looked at the town again, sighed, and walked in.

Meanwhile, Geoff returned to the other heroes at the shack. He looked around at them, and then nodded. They all sighed in relief, understanding that Slash was safely taken care of. Now, with the threat of John and the Underground out of the way, perhaps they could return to their normal lives. Well, then their thoughts were interrupted when the door slammed open.

"Hey dudes!" Jude called out, holding Zetkik's head in his arms. The others nodded in his direction, as he held the head for them to see.

"I'm gonna take this back up to the… higher beings so they can seal this stuff away. Other than that, I guess this is good bye," Jude noted. The others nodded again.

"Thanks for everything Jude," Owen thanked, with Izzy at his side. Jude nodded, and floated off. Now, all there was for the heroes to worry about was what their future would hold.

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Yep, next chapter will complete this, and then I'll move onto 'Futuristic Adventures' and 'More Than Just Playing the Game', as well as anything else that I come up with. Speaking of which, I plan on bringing out that series with Harold and Izzy solving TDI murder cases (inspired by Parody-lover's own murder series, and somewhat similar) near the end of January, start of February. It's all mapped out, and is so far looking to be my longest story yet. But, that's for way later. For now, stay tuned for the epilogue sometime this week.


	7. Epilogue

Just as I said, it would be short. Still, I find it hard to believe just how short I made this. I'd like to thank any and everyone who reviewed/ read this story, but it must end here. No sequel, sorry. I probably could have expanded the party more, but I got lazy at the end. Oh well. Disclaimer's in the previous chapter.**

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**

**20 Years Later…**

Wondering what happened to our heroes, and Slash? Well, here's where they are currently:

**Cody-** Cody has lived his life repairing technology in a little shop he opened in Florida called 'Cody's Repair Inc.'. He has received many offers from bigger technology companies, but Cody turned them all down, preferring to stay right where he is. He met and married a young lady named Caitlyn Richardson, about his age. They have been happily married for almost ten years, with two kids: one boy (Theodore) and one girl (Rose).

**Duncan-** Duncan became a firefighter in his local towns, easily able to stop any fire that pops up anywhere (although he has secretly caused a few because he was bored). As expected, he married Courtney, and currently has three kids: two girls (Mary and Carly) and one boy (Zachary).

**Courtney-** Courtney is a Senator in New York. Her married life is explained above. One thing people may not know is that she sometimes changes her appearance to work other jobs (even keeping it secret from her family).

**Geoff-** Geoff is a successful party planner for all kinds of parties, although he prefers bachelor parties above all. He married Bridgette with one daughter (Ashley). On a few occasions where he got a little too drunk, Geoff would sometimes wake up in a foreign country, shirtless, and on the ground.

**Bridgette-** Bridgette spends most of her time surfing alongside her also surf-enthusiast daughter. She also owns a Surf Shack of her own. She is a little jealous of her daughter, who is far more coordinated on land than her.

**Gwen-** Gwen skipped right through any and all medical school, and is called up on daily for her healing services. She is married to Trent with twin boys (Adam and Joel). Once, she climbed to the top of a thirty-story building, and dived down to rescue a man as he committed suicide. The man lived, but Gwen had heard that he hung himself later that day.

**Trent-** Trent is more of a stay-at-home dad to his little boys, but whenever he gets free time, he will write songs. One day, he took the time, and flew around the Earth in 2 days, before going to the house of the producer of 'Around the World in 80 Days' and rubbed it in his face. Later that day, Gwen had to heal his black eye.

**Owen-** Owen married Izzy, but the two haven't been known to have any kids yet. He traveled around the country with Izzy (Once, he accidently signed up for a wrestling tournament in Nevada, and was not doing well until Izzy jumped in and won the championship belt). Now they are settled down. Owen works odd jobs.

**Izzy-** Izzy works as a guidance counselor, much to anybody's surprise. Her craziness has somewhat subsided, but she still has a habit of stalking students when she is supposedly 'working'. She helped Owen lose about 50 pounds of weight by throwing their fridge into a boat, and rowing across the Gulf of Mexico, with Owen swimming after it.

**Ezekiel-** Ezekiel works as real estate agent, with improved social skills. He still hasn't lost his accent, but it has become part of his trademark slogan. He married Heather with two boys (Alan and Mark) and one girl (Marie). A little known fact is that Ezekiel once played drums with bands at a bar, before he went into real estate.

**Heather-** Heather is a stay-at-home mom with her children, happily married to Ezekiel. Still, she sends clones out for charity work whenever she can. What she doesn't know is that a few of her clones have attracted the interest of other men, and one man even proposed to one of the clones. Yeah, that's not gonna end well.

**Harold-** Harold is one of the only two heroes not married. He became a high school history teacher. He regularly goes back to watch the amazing events he teaches, and always surprises the students with information they hadn't known before. One time, he almost screwed the time line dramatically when he appeared right in the middle of the Battle of Gettysburg, and almost blurted out something he shouldn't have. Ever since then, Jude has been keeping a close eye on him.

**Eric "Slash" Renolds-** Slash eventually learned to speak Spanish, and worked in a town bar. He is the other hero that is not married. The town does not know of Slash's past, and do not ask about it. In the small town, Slash is the only one who does not own a gun, but he has his reasons.

Twenty years later, these thirteen heroes were all gathered (in secrecy) at Geoff's house, throwing a small reunion party. The kids were all spending time at their relative's house, and the old friends were catching up.

"… So then, I lit it on fire, and the guy starts freaking out. And then, when I put it out, he faints!" Duncan exclaimed, talking about one of his stories amongst the others. He looked around. All of them had changed since they had last been together. Gwen's hair had lost the teal streaks of long ago, and her dark hair now reached to her waist. She still wore Goth-like clothes, but she seemed to be more cheerful than she was before. Trent had a shaggy, shaven beard, but had cut his hair shorter. He wore a plain green shirt and jeans now. Owen had lost a considerable amount of weight, and had grown his hair out, along with a small moustache. Izzy had cut her hair until it reached to the bottom of her neck, and she now wore a light green blouse with black pants. She had also seemed calmer now. Ezekiel had grown his hair out as well under his torque, but it was rather stylish. His hoodie was replaced by a dark green sweatshirt, but the rest of his attire hadn't changed much. Heather kept her hair slightly shorter, and had taken to wearing regular shirts and jeans, as well as actual shoes. Geoff had kept his cowboy hat look, but only because his hair was beginning to bald slightly underneath. He had kept his same clothes from before, but kept his shirt buttoned now. Bridgette had cut her hair way shorter, but hadn't changed much either. Cody had taken to wearing normal sweatshirts now, along with bright blue jeans. Harold had kept his glasses, but his face was cleared from all acne, and his hair was a little longer than before. He had taken to wearing blue short sleeve shirts with something historical on them, and black jeans. His wheezing and medical conditions seemed to have improved greatly since twenty years ago. Slash hadn't changed much, but definitely seemed to have changed a little bit, and had that Mexican air around him. His wife, Courtney, had kept her appearance similar to before. But, she had seemed older and more mature than before. Duncan had kept his green mohawk. After all, it was… him. Getting rid of it would be like getting rid of part of his identity. He had also kept his piercings, but had grown a soul patch, not wanting a full beard of moustache. He still wore punk clothes, but he acted far more mature than he did when he was a teenager.

They had changed an awful lot since twenty years ago, and each of them kept thinking it throughout the whole party. For the rest of the night, they ate, drank, danced, and just enjoyed seeing one another again. But, soon enough, it had to end. Geoff began taking everybody home. They were glad to see each other again, but they couldn't live in the past. They had to move on to the future.

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Yeah, I suck when it comes to closure. I just cannot write a good ending for my life. Oh well, thanks for reading. With that, I shall mark this story as complete, and move on to other things. I shall update 'Futuristic Adventures' first, and then 'More Than Just Playing the Game'. Well, gamestomper out for now, and I hope you've enjoyed FotF as well as AotU!


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